Moist tender tandoori chicken marinated in a yogurt lime sauce with warm bold spices, grilled and drizzled with a tangy yogurt sauce, wrapped in naan bread.
What Is Tandoori?
A lot of people think that tandoori refers to a recipe. In all actuality, it is a method of cooking. Tandoori is a traditional Indian style of cooking based on the use of a tandoor.
A tandoor is a clay oven, almost like a large clay pit. It is large enough to hold a small fire created by slow-burning wood charcoal. The heat is controlled by the amount of oxygen allowed inside. The heat that reflects on the ceramic walls of the tandoor is so intense it can reach 600 degrees F!
A tandoor is used to prepare bread, such as naan, marinated meat, and vegetables. Meats are lowered into the oven on long metal skewers and cooked in the extremely hot pit.
The Tandoori Chicken Marinade
Yogurt is the base for almost all marinades for tandoori dishes. It is usually seasoned with traditional spices such as ginger, garlic, coriander, cayenne pepper, garam masala, and turmeric.
I have been wanting to include more turmeric in our diet. With its health benefits, it’s not surprising that people are calling turmeric is a superfood.
The thick yogurt is very mild and usually doesn’t have any taste. It adheres to the meat penetrating the herbs and spices by holding them in place during cooking.
About This Recipe
Wanting to explore and revisit this cuisine, David and I tried our hand at modernizing this traditional Indian cuisine, with marinated chicken using David’s Weber charcoal grill. We also opted out on using skewers.
This tandoori chicken consist of moist tender chicken breast strips marinated in a yogurt lime mixture using warm bold spices, grilled and drizzled with a tangy yogurt sauce wrapped in warm fluffy naan bread with fresh vegetables.
How To Make Tandoori Chicken Naan Bread With Yogurt Sauce
Marinate The Chicken:
In a small bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients together. Add the chicken to a zip-top bag. Pour in the marinade mixture and massage the chicken until coated well. Place the chicken in the refrigerator. Marinate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
Prepare the Yogurt Sauce and Marinate:
Whisk all of the ingredients in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place the sauce in the refrigerator until needed.
Preparing The Grill For Tandoori:
When you fire up the grill, remember tandoori is style cooking is cooked at very high temperatures. Your barbecue grill will suffice, just stoke it up!
Start with a high temperature and keep it up during the cooking only lifting the lid to place the meat on the grill and turn it over.
Preheat the grill and set up for both direct and indirect grilling, by placing coals to one side of the grill. When the coals are ready, brush the rack with oil to prevent the chicken from sticking.
Cook The Tandoori Chicken:
Place the chicken thighs directly over the coals for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side until seared, then move to the other side of the grill. Turn chicken, as needed to keep them from burning.
Squeeze some fresh lime juice on the chicken between turns.
Cook until chicken is tender and cooked through. The chicken is ready when it reaches 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer; about 20 to 30 minutes total.
Remove the chicken from the grill and allow it to rest.
Prepare The Naan Bread:
While the grill is still hot, place the Naan bread on the grate directly over the coals for about 1 to 2 minutes on each side.
To Serve:
Top the Naan bread with 3 to 4 chicken tenders, sliced cucumbers, red onion, tomato, chopped cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
Top with the yogurt sauce and enjoy!
The bold spices of the chicken and zesty yogurt sauce wrapped in warm fluffy naan bread were like instant comfort food. I just wish we would have had more time to marinate the chicken.
Next time we will plan on it!
I hope you will try this recipe and send your taste buds on an Indian exploration.
Once you do, there’s no turning back!
Tandoori Chicken Naan Bread With Yogurt Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breast tenders
- Yogurt Sauce (recipe to follow)
- Naan Bread
- cucumber sliced
- tomato sliced
- red onion sliced
- romaine lettuce chopped
Marinade
- ½ cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ginger finely grated
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- a pinch ground cayenne pepper
- sea salt fresh cracked black pepper to taste
- 1 lime zested + 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro + more for garnish rough chopped
Yogurt Sauce
- 6 ounces fat-free plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint chopped
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
Marinate the Chicken
- In a small bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients together. Add the chicken to a zip-top bag. Pour in the marinade mixture and massage the chicken until coated well. Place the chicken in the refrigerator. Marinate at least 1 hour or overnight.
Prepare the yogurt sauce
- Whisk all of the ingredients in small bowl; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place the sauce in the refrigerator until needed.
Prepare the Grill
- When you fire up the grill, remember tandoori is style cooking is cooked at very high temperatures. Your barbecue grill will suffice, just stoke it up!Start with a high temperature and keep it up during the cooking only lifting the lid to place the meat on the grill and turn it over.Preheat the grill and set up for both direct and indirect grilling, by placing coals to one side of the grill. When the coals are ready, brush the rack with oil to prevent the chicken from sticking.
Cook The Tandoori Chicken
- Place the chicken thighs directly over the coals for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side until seared, then move to the other side of the grill. Turn chicken, as needed to keep them from burning.Squeeze some fresh lime juice on the chicken between turns.Cook until chicken is tender and cooked through. The chicken is ready when it reaches 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer; about 20 to 30 minutes total.Remove the chicken from the grill and allow it to rest.
Prepare the Naan Bread:
- While the grill is still hot, place the Naan bread on the grate directly over the coals for about 1 to 2 minutes on each side.
To Serve:
- Top the Naan bread with 3 to 4 chicken tenders, sliced cucumbers, red onion, tomato, chopped cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Top with the yogurt sauce and enjoy!
Julie is Hostess At Heart says
This looks so delicious! We like trying other cuisines too. It’s pretty amazing how they cross over too.
The Mountain Kitchen says
Thanks Julie. Going to explore more Indian food!